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Vale Hakoah Club

The Bondi Hakoah Club is closing. It was a Jewish club where all the high-flying Jewish people and their friends hung out. Over the past decade or longer it was mainly frequented by oldies.

I used to go there in the early 1990s when I was living in Bondi in Jacques Avenue and watch the free movies for members (my flatmate was a member and it was cheap to join.) Though the club is gone, there is a strong Jewish community around Bondi — there is a fence (“eruv”) running around the beach which Jewish people are not supposed to venture past on the Sabbath. It cost a lot to build and took many years to get Waverley Council permission to erect it.

Found this: “Under Jewish law it is forbidden to push or carry objects beyond the private home on the Sabbath and during holy festivals.
“That means parents are often unable to take babies and young children to synagogues or parks because they cannot push them there in prams. “Likewise, the elderly and disabled cannot be pushed in wheelchairs.
“But the creation of a part-symbolic, part-physical zone known as an eruv allows Jews to carry out such activities within its boundaries.
“The ultimate aim is to basically help families, liberating people from their homes, such as young mums with kids in their prams.”

Sydney Eruv site here. It says: “Note: Only the car park level above the promenade at Bondi Beach is wholly within the eruv boundary. It is not possible to walk the length of this promenade and stay within the eruv. If unsure about the boundary, please consult your Rabbi.”